In addition to speed, automated web-based quoting removes guesswork, the possibility of human error and subjective interpretation. Standardizing the quoting process across the company eliminates bottlenecks and keeps the line moving. Now any estimator can work on a quote. This is important in meeting deadlines when the estimator who started the process is absent or otherwise occupied.
AWI Manufacturing, Inc. (Winsted, MN) offers a full line of stainless steel products for the food and dairy industry including floor drains, trench drains, enclosures, components, hex hangers, tanks and flow plates as well as custom products. They also offer custom fabrication for all other industries. With laser cutting, tube laser cutting, forming/rolling, welding, engineering, assembly and finishing operations (grinding and polishing) the company is well positioned to meet the needs of a growing customer base. But, while shop floor capabilities are cutting edge, AWI’s process for generating quotes was stuck in the past. Fully leveraging these resources, and recouping capital machine investment costs, would depend on winning more jobs.
“In the past we relied on EXCEL as our quoting platform,” said Stacey Hertzog, AWI Vice President of Technical Operations & Quality. “It was taking a minimum of several hours to get a quote out. What’s more, entering the numbers manually always presented an opportunity for human error – never a good thing when it comes to putting out bids.” In a business where margins are tight, accuracy and speed go hand-in-hand. The only thing worse than losing a job is winning one that costs the company money.
After evaluating a variety of quoting software options, AWI was sold on SecturaSOFT. “In the end, our selection was a no-brainer,” said Hertzog. “Other systems still required us to manually input multiple sets of information and didn’t integrate into our ERP system. The software is easy to learn and use. We get prints from the customer, drop it in to the software and it spits out the quote. A process that took half a day or more is slashed to thirty minutes or less.”
AWI is in the process of integrating SecturaSOFT with its ERP system. The company is anticipating even bigger savings when the systems are fully integrated.
Read the full case study here: AWI
